Orangeville Food bank supporting ‘One-Bag Challenge’ to stop hunger

September 29, 2016 ·
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At its last sitting, Dufferin County Council proclaimed September as Hunger Awareness month, and since then the Orangeville and Area Food Bank has continued to source ideas to raise funds and food for individuals and families in need.The “One-Bag Challenge” is a new idea Food Bank Director Heather Hayes hopes will help to stock the shelves.

“Orangeville and Area Food Bank (OAFB) is supporting a twist on the Ice Bucket Challenge,” says Heather Hayes. “Buy one bag of groceries to donate to the Orangeville Food Bank and post a picture to social media, such as Facebook, and nominate five friends to also make a donation to the Food Bank. Nominees have 48 hours to complete the challenge.”

Ms. Hayes added, “Many communities in Ontario are celebrating the one-bag challenge to remind people of the ongoing need in their communities. In Ontario, 360,000 people use the food banks every month. One in three is under the age of 18 and in the last two years the fastest growing segment of food bank users are seniors.”

In Orangeville in the month of August, OAFB served 476 people – up from 295 clients in August 2014. “People think that they know what a “typical” food bank client is, but the reality is less than 13% come every month,” Ms. Hayes said. “People who use the food bank are your neighbours, your co-workers, your classmates, your friends and even your family. The need is increasing in our community and in particular with seniors.”

The recent renovations to reconfigure the space at OAFB gives the organization more capacity to share fresh milk, eggs, vegetables and proteins like meat. Those fresh produce purchases are possible with community support of cash donations, as well as community gardens and shares from Shaw’s Creek Community Supported Agriculture.

“We are looking forward to the many upcoming food drives that will help us restock our shelves,” says Ms. Hayes. “If people would like to host a food drive or find out how they can donate fresh or perishable foods please contact OAFB at 519-942-0638.”

“The one-bag challenge is a great way to kick off our Food Drive season in Orangeville,” she said. Inspired by the Central Okanagan Food Bank’s one bag challenge, the OAFB “would love to see 500 pounds of food from the drive.”

The OAFB is committed to their vision statement of a community without hunger, but their shelves are very low at this time of year. The food bank is asking for the community to help to fill the shelves as the need in Orangeville continues to grow.

Visit www.facebook.com/OrangevilleFoodBank for more details and take the One-Bag Challenge – you may be feeding a friend.